Articles

Understanding the 21st Century Young Adults

By JoAnn Scaife, Lifeway Deacon Magazine

A time in our culture where the code words are “text me” and “hit me up on Facebook”, it seems as though as the Church our job of communicating with young adults are becoming more difficult every day. How do we begin to understand the young adult that lives in a world where there is more access to information in almost every form of communication through the internet? Meaning, in the last 25 years everything technologically, socially and spiritually has changed. This has caused our communications with some of them to suffer. Hears the truth, sometimes we honestly do not have a clear picture of where they are if we are not browsing their Facebook. Don’t you know, it’s the way of the world is now! In many cases, you can find out all you need to know about someone by logging on to their Facebook or Twitter account, but that is not the only way to get to know understand someone.

What I have found working as a collegiate minister, young adults today are people who really want to live life with some type of significance that will lead them to becoming a better person. They are daily trying their best to discover a voice so they can share it. Check out YouTube. So many of them have come from an increasing amount of hurt and many have been suppressed from thinking on their own. The characteristics of young adults today are compiled with many things ranging from a strenuous survival mode to strong faith. I say a survival mode, because truthfully, these are difficult times. So many of these individuals have come out of hard pressed situations due to family circumstances or just life such as: taking care of sick parents, single-parenting, domestic violence, abandonment, sexual abuse, mental illnesses and more. Or young adults who may move back home because educational loss and joblessness. Today researchers are defining these younger people that leave to go to college, get married, low pay, most cost of rent, or strut by their independence and move back home as the “Boomerang Kids”.

According to the US Census Bureau 6 million young adults (those ages 18 to 24) lived at home in 1960. In 2008, the number of young adults living with their parents has grown to 15 million. And the trend continues: the number of adult children living with their parents increased by 1.2 million from 2008 to 2010, a gain of about 5 percent.

Although all are not like this there are great percentages that are. At present, many are so frustrated with our world and what opportunities it has to offer for them. All these things sometimes lead to an enormous amount of isolation and depression causing them to react in ways not intended. To that fact, many are just trying to keep a strong mind and survive, this behavior contribute to delay in their lives. In reality, our culture has to adjust to these facts. In an articlewritten by Heather D. Boonstra of GPR Institute (Guttmacher Policy ReviewSpring 2009, Volume 12, Number 2) she states, “In recent years, social scientists, the popular media and parents alike have become increasingly interested in the health and lives of “20-somethings.” According to a range of experts, the life of a young adult today is very different from the life of a young adult just a generation ago. Today’s 20-somethings are taking longer to graduate from college, settle into a career, live independently and start a family. Indeed, researchers have suggested that there is a new and definable phase in life, spanning the decade between the late teens and late 20s, when young Americans experience their “odyssey years”—a time of wandering on the path to maturity.”

In between these “odyssey years” as stated above, strong faith is what many of the adults aging 18-29 years old are searching for and committing to. Many would think they do not care about spiritual matters, but I personally have experienced a different result. As a matter of fact, faith is priority in their lives. Their faith in many cases is all they have to cling to, so discussing their God-given purpose is important. These adults want to discover faith for themselves and learn how to live with it on a daily basis. Their hard pressed times and unresolved answers about where they are going in life is driving them to turn to God. Here’s the trick, they do not want to discover it in a traditional manner because many are finding it to be too exclusive and the traditional church is not giving them the answers needed to life issues. So it leads them to search deeper and outside of what they know about God and causes many to be lead to other beliefs or none at all. This contributes to our misunderstanding of young adults and confusion on just what are some definite characteristics many embody. To this fact, our communication to them does not make sense.

David Kinnaman, President of the Barna Research Group and author of“unChristian” and new release “You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church, he describes this about the church when understanding young adults;

“Young adults with Christian experience say the church is not a place that allows them to express doubts. They do not feel safe admitting that sometimes Christianity does not make sense. In addition, many feel that the church’s response to doubt is trivial. Some of the perceptions in this regard include not being able “to ask my most pressing life questions in church” (36%) and having “significant intellectual doubts about my faith” (23%).”

Here are 5 important characteristics that will help to understand the young adult (both Christian and non-Christian) of today along with some suggestions on how to approach where the young adult is now. I find these are the top five that we must keep in view.

1) Young adults believe communication is really important, but most of it is done on the internet. It is not true that these adults do not want to talk with you or contact you on a regular basis. Most all of them just communicate via email. We are living in a “Starbuck” culture where understanding what is on someone mind is in. The best way to handle this is to at some point communicate with them” where there are”. One does not have to open up 15 different social networking accounts in order to reach them, just simply find out the best means of contact and do it, and do it often. Although this is a way to communicate most of the time, the best is “face time”. So simply grab a cup of coffee or smoothie with them. Don’t be fooled “face to face” communication is superior.

2) Young adults are more open to cultural ideas. We have to learn how to be more open to what is going in our world. We now live in a culture where information is at the tip of the figure and you can learn more about other people, countries, sciences, history than ever before. This is where the young adult is now. They want someone to converse with them on different issues and interests. Being closed minded and not taking the time to discuss and understand is not the best choice way of communicating.

3) Young adults sexuality is open for discussion. With a culture engulfed with pornography and intense emphasis on having sex many young adults are struggling with how to deal with sexual issues. Researchers have found that there are more unplanned pregnancies in 20somethings than teenagers. (Heather D. Boonstra of GPR ) This means that more of young men are becoming fathers earlier as well. Experts say much of this leads to a large extent of education and preparation they received in their teenage years. I have learned they are ready to have sincere adult discussions about sex, purity, abstinence, sex before marriage and more. As Christians we do not need to water this topic down when it comes up for discussion. Move away from the child-like examples and be open to discuss the sometime uncomfortable ones. Choose your topics wisely by making sure you can intelligently discuss the issues. It is a guarantee they have done their research.

4) Young adults are very eclectic. Yes, this generation is very eclectic meaning they select from different sources and styles of things in our culture. Younger Americans have been shaped by the culture, embracing more open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance. Researchers say they are the most eclectic in American history, especially in sexuality, religion, race, technology tools and sources of authority.

5) Young adults want the church to be more open and less judge-mental. The young is screaming for the traditional church to be more open-minded without losing the importance and true meaning for serving Christ and others. Judging is not an outdated issue, it still exists and many do not attend church or become fully committed because of this one issue. We have to look beyond where a person stand and begin to look at where they began. There is a deep amount of hurt out here. We must see it for what it really is and walk through it with our young adults without judging only what we see.

As the church our main goal should be to become better informed about what is really going on in culture and hone in on some of these characteristics to truly understand our younger generation.

Portrait of A Single

Each month LSIF is taking the time out to focus on singles and how they are living. We will interview singles and get their perspective on some of the issues that they face on a daily basis , as well as check out how they are truly living it.

Featuring Juels Evans a College Senior fromTennessee State University who have commited to living her life in faith. Juels is orginally from Illinois.LSIF took the time out to ask a few questions to Ashley about being single in todays world. What does it mean to being single in faith to you?

Your personal relationship with Christ is what it means to me to be single in faith. Not relying on pastor, friends, and/or family just get you to love Christ. A relationship that comes from continental worship and awe through obeying the Lord.

What is the most difficult thing about living single in our culture today?

Sex, it’s everywhere and prideful thinking … that I can do it all by myself.

How important is a relationship to you?

Relationship is important to me. No man or woman is greater than the other, we are equal. We need each other to grow in Christ and to see GOD’s image.

How do you handle lonliness?

I handle loneliness by being joyful. True joyfulness comes from the Lord. And if it’s me practicing the guitar or just enjoying other people’s company those are some the ways I handle loneliness.

What do you think God's perspective is when it comes to abstinence? God wants you to be pure at heart, which is having a clear conscience, pure soul, and expressing love not lust.What kind of advice would you give someone that is in a wrong relationship?

I would ask two questions. Why are you wasting your time? And why are you hurting yourself?

How could you use your time now while you are single?

I use my time serving and encouraging. Doing community service, and Bible studies are great which I have fun doing. I also have fun with people I love, encouraging them in different ways through the spirit.

Weekend Answer to Prayer for Young Single woman

Young career woman hears God’s voice at Urban Singles conference. Living single in faith is new, best option for young woman

RIDGECREST, N.C., 4/20/09 – Tanika Bryant is a lovely young woman, a human resources consultant and adjunct college teacher. She is also looking for a new "normal."

Bryant decided at the last minute to attend the Living Single in Faith urban singles event at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center.

"Someone sent me a link to the Webpage about the conference," she said. "I got that link and knew God was speaking to me in a very direct and concrete way.

"I needed this," she said. "I’m craving a deeper intimacy with Jesus. I’m tired of being defeated and superficial. I’m ready to turn my whole life over to Him."

She said she was convinced the devil was trying to keep her away from the conference.

"I don’t like to travel by myself," she said. "I don’t like to drive in the rain. It makes me nervous. And wouldn’t you know, while I am driving up here by myself from Columbia [S.C.], I see really dark and stormy clouds gathering. I prayed hard, ‘Lord Jesus, don’t let it get bad.’ I had no more than finished the words until I saw a break come in the clouds. I saw sun shining through the break and, in just a minute, the storm had passed."

Bryant said she knows now there is a difference between living single and living single in faith. "I heard one of the speakers say Jesus could maximize my potential – I liked that. I know that God will finish the work He has started in me. He will be my focus."

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